ND House passes bill to reduce income taxes for veterans

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Bismarck Tribune
Feb 18th 2019 - 6pm.

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BISMARCK — A bill to create an income tax reduction for veterans in North Dakota passed the state House on Monday, Feb. 18, despite a “do not pass” recommendation from the House Appropriations Committee.

House Bill 1053, from primary sponsor Steve Vetter, R-Grand Forks, passed 50-42 and will now move on to the Senate.

The bill would apply to benefits received by retired military personnel and those received by a veteran's surviving spouse. According to Vetter, it should persuade more veterans to stay in North Dakota and contribute to the state’s economy and workforce.

“It’s really a job and base retention bill,” Vetter said after the House vote. “It’ll ultimately bring in more military retirees (who) will claim North Dakota as their home.”

A fiscal note from the office of the state tax commissioner said the proposal could reduce state general fund revenues by about $3 million in the next biennium. Of that amount, the note said about $132,000 would be attributable to payments to survivors of retired military members.